


19. There is always a price

by tveckling



Series: Dare to Write challenge [38]
Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, But mostly Valentine and Benvolio, But with hopeful ending, Gen, He has a lot to deal with, It's not easy being the prince okay, Mentions of basically everyone - Freeform, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-24 01:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8350525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tveckling/pseuds/tveckling
Summary: The city is different now, quieter, calmer. There have been no public brawls, no swords suddenly drawn in the streets, and the people can go about their daily business without worry. For most it’s a relief, but they weren’t the ones who lost someone. They are the ones who can’t feel the heaviness of the silence, the ones who don’t hear the echoes of laughter, of yelling, of youthful noise.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ambrose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambrose/gifts).



The city is different now, quieter, calmer. There have been no public brawls, no swords suddenly drawn in the streets, and the people can go about their daily business without worry. For most it’s a relief, but they weren’t the ones who lost someone. They are the ones who can’t feel the heaviness of the silence, the ones who don’t hear the echoes of laughter, of yelling, of youthful noise.

The life for a prince goes on as usual, no matter who he has lost. Giovanni Escalus has put two bodies in his family tomb but he still has his duty, now more than ever. Now that there are no families fighting he has to focus his energy on everything else that needs doing in a city, and for the first time he realizes how much of his time and focus the feud had taken. He works vigorously, and soon there are but one pressing matter that needs his attention: that of an heir.

In the tragic events he lost two of his nephews, one of whom was supposed to become prince when he died. Valentine is younger than Mercutio, only fourteen, and he has been greatly affected by his brother’s death. It hurts to call on him and tell him of his new position and title as heir and that he will receive new classes to prepare for his new future, but it has to be done. A prince can’t let his emotions control his actions, he must only think of his people.

It’s only later when he sits in his study with nothing but a candle for companionship that he allows himself to feel the pain caused by Valentine’s angry words. It is true, he is acting cold and callous, but it is because he can’t allow anything else, not because he has no emotions. Not one day has passed without him feeling the aching losses of Mercutio and Paris, and his regrets over not managing to stop the feud will surely haunt him until his dying day. The hours he sleep each night has dropped markedly, his dreams plagued by the faces of the dead, and he spends almost all of his waking hours focused on his duties. If he works himself empty maybe he can escape the guilt.

He knows he’s not the only one feeling that way. The heads of the Capulet and Montague families have turned away from the public, mourning their children and their doomed love in private while others take care of their family businesses. The times when Giovanni has seen Benvolio his heart ached for the boy, because no person so young should wear such grief on his face. Knowing how close the boy was to Mercutio Giovanni has many times considered sending for him, maybe let him and Valentine talk. The fear that he would be inviting more pain than consolation has stopped him every time.

A voice in his mind—sounding much like Mercutio—crudely suggests that it might be time to take that risk. Valentine is hurting from his brother’s death, and soon he will be swept into the world of a prince. The least Giovanni can do for putting him in that position and for sharing blame in the tragedy is to help him connect with someone else who is also hurting. It is widely known that sharing your pain can relieve it, and Giovanni can’t be the person to do that—doesn’t know how.

The letter takes the better part of an hour to write, even though it only contains a few sentences, and Giovanni is tired when he finishes it. Emotions really aren’t his virtue, never has been, and finding the right ones to use has given him what must be the beginning of a headache. It is somehow freeing to hand the letter to a messenger, and for the first time in weeks he feels his heavy heart ease up, just a little bit, when he walks to his bedroom. It’s not much, and he doesn’t even know if it will do any good, but if he can ease Valentine’s pain at all maybe his guilt can subside. Maybe he can one day be forgiven.


End file.
